Arabia, India, China & Africa In Just One Day
Singapore, 18th March 2002
"Groan!" The bed was SO uncomfortable! They've kindly placed a
mattress that was as thick as a piece of paper on top of a solid
wooden board. I like to sleep on my side, but if I lie on my side
for more than 30 seconds, I cut off the blood supply to my arm. I
guess it'll do me good, I've been staying in places that are far too
nice for backpackers!
I spent the majority of today exploring the sections of Singapore
city. Singapore is a very multi-cultural place, there are dozens of
pockets of ethnic groups all over the city. Three main sections in
the city are Chinatown, Little India and the Arab Quarter. It's
pretty self explanatory who lives in each section. I checked out
each of them turn and each part is really different.
I headed over to the Arab quarter first. It wasn't quite as manic as
the Rough Guide makes it out to be. I expected there to be street
sellers all over the pavements & roads, but it was actually quite
quiet and controlled. The huge golden minarets of the Sultan Mosque
towering above me were the first sign that I was entering a Muslim
area. The people also became more 'traditionally' dressed as I
progressed down the aptly named Arab street. Women sported colourful
shawls, wrapped around floor length robes, completely covered up
except for their faces & hands. The men wore gowns or sarongs and
many had the traditional shaped beards.
While I pushed my way through the shops, the heavens opened and
there was a rush as everyone moved their wares underneath covers. I
stood for a while watching the local people go about their business
and eating their (quite interesting) meals. When the rain eased off,
I continued round to Little India.
There is almost a precise line where you cross from a Chinese
section to Little India. One minute there are signs in Chinese and
dozens of Chinese restaurants and shops, then suddenly everything
changed. Now I was surrounded by curry restaurants and shops selling
Indian wares. Again, it wasn't as manic as the rough guide
suggested, but it was definitely an experience. I was now surrounded
by Hindi women dressed in bright sarees, whisking past to their
destination. Indian men conversed in a language I couldn't
understand.
While I was in little India, it started raining heavily again. The
thunder boomed showing it could be raining for a while, so I tried
to work out which bus I could take to get to the Internet cafe on
Orchard Road. None of them seemed to go there, so I ended up waiting
for about an hour. I looked at my map and saw there was an MRT
station nearby, so I dodged through the back streets to where it
should be, and all I could see were loads of white fences. Little
signs on it said 'MRT station coming soon!'. Hey! That's not fair!
The map makes it look like it's already operating. Annoyed and a bit
wet, I ran back round to the shelter of the bus station.
On the way I passed a traditional fortune teller, so I gave it a go.
I gave him $2, then told him my name. He then opened up a box and
told a bright green parrot my name. The parrot then waddled out onto
a line of blue cards. Waddling up and down, it seemed to be
thinking, then it picked a card out with its beak and gave it to the
old Indian man. This card has my fortune written on it. The man
unfolded it and handed it to me. There was a picture of Ganesha, the
Hindu god. There was also a piece of writing which was, um,
interesting and a bit vague. A bit like the horoscopes in TV
magazines. Still, it was a good bit of traditional Singapore fun
that I had to have a go at!
I broke up my touring by visiting a cheap Internet cafe on Orchard
Road (the big, main shopping street). The only problem was, was that
it was full of kids playing Counterstrike and Starcraft with the
volumes on maximum. Imagine 100 computers all with games on maximum
volume. It was really bad, luckily I had some ear-plugs in my bag,
so I bunged them in. They helped, but the girl on the computer next
to me kept giving me funny looks!
I visited Chinatown again and it was much busier today. There were
people running everywhere and the stores were packed. The main point
of interest was the really strange Sri Mariamman Temple. It's very
colourful with 100s of little ornaments and figures and a very
distinctive gate. The huge gate has a cone shape on top it with
steps on it, and on the steps sit lots of colourful religious
figures. It's very hard to describe, but I took some photos that
I'll put on Go Gap! when I get back. When I got there, there was a
religious service just starting. One man was hitting a large gong
zealously while two other men played some unusual instruments.
Through a doorway, I could just make out a man lighting a torch (the
flaming kind). However, tourists weren't allowed to go up there. I
watched the musicians with interest, then when one of them looked at
me, I pointed to my camera questioningly. He nodded and I took a few
photos. It's quite a strange, but very memorable place.
I spent the first part of the evening exploring Orchard Road a bit
more. Orchard Road is the Oxford Street, the 5th Avenue and the
Champs Elysees of Singapore. It is extremely long with dozens of
shopping malls along it. In about 2 hours, I only got about 1/3rd of
the way a long! I had to be careful though! I was strictly window
shopping!
At about 8pm, after I'd tortured myself enough, I decided to take a
visit to the well known Night Safari. I wasn't too sure if I wanted
to go though as it costs about S$20, but in the end I thought it
might be a good experience.
After a short MRT journey, followed by a long bus journey, I reached
the Night Safari zoo. About 10 minutes after I got in, they had a
free 'Animals of the Night' show. I got in quite late, so I was
sitting at the back. But at the start of the show, they warned that
the people at the front might get involved in the show & if it was a
problem, they should consider changing seats. About a dozen people
got up & quickly moved to the back. I wasn't bothered, so I decided
to move to the, now vacant, best seats at the front.
There were a variety of animals on display, and they performed
really well. Some of the animals were totally new & bizarre to me,
while others, like the Barn Owl, were quite familiar. It was pretty
entertaining, the animals and the people working there were
obviously enjoying themselves, even if they made lots of bad jokes.
The night safari was pretty cool. Obviously, as the name suggests,
it all takes place at night. To get round the park, you start by
jumping on a very Jurassic park style tram. The tram drives slowly
through the safari park and the guide at the front gives a
commentary. The park is lit by some very subtle lights that give
just enough light to see the animals without disturbing them. The
zoo is pretty much completely open, the animals are separated by
moats and walls made of trees & bushes. There are almost no fences.
This gives the place a very authentic feel, it really feels like
you're out in the middle of the rain forest. Well it would do if the
tram wasn't full of loud Japanese tourists.
It's really impressive to see giraffes, rhinos, elephants, lions and
other creatures from really close up. You really can't appreciate
the sheer size & strength of these animals until you see them like
this. It's even better how there are no fences in the way. Usually,
I'm very against zoos, but with so much space and freedom, this
appeared to be very fair and humane.
There are also a few walking trails where you can take your time
watching the animals. I rushed around a bit because it was getting
late, and I left the park at about 10:45pm. I read a sign saying the
bus at 11pm will get to the MRT station in time for the last MRT.
Lucky! If I'd come out after that, I would have been a bit stuck. An
expensive taxi would have been the only option. Anyhow, I hopped on
the last MRT and managed to get back to the hostel by about 12:30.
Luckily the doors are open 24 hours, so I snuck quietly into the
room and jumped into the bed. Well, I sat down carefully because
it's a very hard bed! Night night!
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